Crib reciprocating device

ABSTRACT

The device is used for reciprocating a crib to soothe the baby and help put it to sleep. The device comprises a self-contained unit on which a conventional crib can be positioned. It consists of a central horizontal bar on which a v-shaped holder is mounted at each end. A flat rectangular plate is provided with an angularly extending rod which is adjustably slidably mounted in one arm of one of the v-shaped holders. There are four of such plates and rods, two for each holder, to provide a plate under each leg of a crib. A small carriage having casters or other types of wheels is positioned on each plate. The crib is mounted on the carriage, one leg on each carriage, so that it is reciprocable on the plates. Since the motion required is short, a matter of a few inches, the plates need not be large. Mounted adjacent one of the V-shaped holders is a rectangular base board having angularly disposed grooves for receiving the rods extending from the adjacent holder. This locks the base in place. A small gear motor is mounted on the base and is provided with a rotating disc. A lever bar has one end pivotally attached to the disc adjacent the perimeter thereof. The other end of the lever is provided with a clamp for clamping to the bottom edge of the end wall of the crib or an end cross bar. When the motor is turned on, the rotation of the disc will impart a reciprocating motion to the lever to pull the crib back and forth on the carriages riding on the plates.

United States Patent [1 1 Laureti [111 3,802,003 Apr.9, 1974 CRIB RECIPROCATING DEVICE Remo J. Laureti, 10 Fernwood P1., Cumberland, R.l. 06475 [22] Filed: Oct. 26, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 192,178

[76] Inventor:

[52] US. Cl 5/108, 5/109, 180/1 D [51] Int. Cl A47d 9/02 [58] Field of Search 5/109, 108, 62, 63;

16/18 R, 45, 47; 248/346, 188.9; 297/246; 180/1 D; 280/D 6 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,619,826 11/1971 Lizotte Jr....; 5/109 3,075,205 1/1963 Canova 2,608,697 9/1952 Condemi 5/109 3,433,500 3/1969 Christensen 16/47 1,160,690 11/1915 Choate 16/47 3,668,721 6/1972 Jenkins 5/109 3,628,620 12/1971 Byers 5/109 Primary Examiner-CaSmirA. Nunberg Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Max Schwartz [57] ABSTRACT The device is used for reciprocating a crib to soothe the baby and help put it to sleep. The device comprises a self-contained unit onwhich a conventional crib can be positioned. It consists of a central horizontal bar on which a v-shaped holder is mounted at each end. A flat rectangular plate is provided with an angularly extending rod which is adjustably slidably mounted in one arm of one of the v-shaped holders. There are four of such plates and rods, two for each holder, to provide a plate under each leg of a crib. A small carriage having casters or other types of wheels is positioned on each plate. The crib is mounted on the carriage, one leg on each carriage, so that it is reciprocable on the plates. Since the motion required is short, a matter of a few inches, the plates need not be large. Mounted adjacent one of the V-shaped holders is a rectangular base board having angularly disposed grooves for receiving the rods extending from the adjacent holder. This locks the base in place. A small gear motor is mounted on-the base and is provided with a rotating disc. A lever bar has one end pivotally attached to the disc adjacent the perimeter thereof. The other end of the lever is provided with a clamp for clamping to the bottom edge of the end wall of the crib or an end cross bar. When the motor is turned on, the rotation of the disc will impart a reciprocating motion to the lever to pull the crib back and forth on the carriages riding on the plates.

4 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEUAPR 91974 REMO J. LAURETI CRIB RECIPROCATING DEVICE My present invention relates to baby furniture, and more particularly to a novel device for reciprocating a babys crib.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a simple and readily assembled unit which will reciprocate a babys crib.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for reciprocating a babys crib, which is a separate and self-contained unit apart from the crib.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for reciprocating a babys crib which can readily be assembled and positioned beneath a conventional crib by the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for reciprocating a babys crib which is simple in construction and easy and economical to manufacture and assemble.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts, more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a crib mounted on a device embodying my present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section showing the hookup of the motor drive;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation showing the hookup of the motor drive;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a portion of the assembly showing the different pieces and their interrelation;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of one of the carriage members; and

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of another form of carriage member.

It is often necessary to rock a baby to sleep by shaking or reciprocating the crib back and forth. This often requires getting out of bed during the night to rock the crib until the baby falls asleep or to stand and rock the crib during the time when there is other work to do. It has been proposed to provide a device for automatically reciprocating the crib to replace the manual method. However, most of these devices are complex in construction and costly to manufacture and assemble. Many of them require special crib constructions or become part of the crib.

The present invention is designed to provide a simple and readily assembled unit which is separate and apart from the crib and which can be positioned under any conventional crib for its operation. The device of the present invention can be completely disassembled for shipment or storage and can be quickly assembled with telescopically fitting parts. The device is thus comparatively inexpensive to manufacture and sell. It reduces the necessary elements needed to reciprocate the crib to a minimum number of parts.

Referring more in detail to the drawings illustrating my invention, FIG. 1 shows a conventional crib l having legs 11 at the four corners and mounted on a device embodying my present invention. The base of the device comprises a comparatively short bar 12, preferably of rectangular cross section, and of any suitable light, strong material such as extruded aluminum, plastic, etc. I now provide a pair of V-shaped holders 13 having rectangular openings for receiving the bar 12 slidably therein, one holder 13 at each end of the bar 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4.

Each holder 13 comprises a straight central sectio 14 which forms the socket for receiving the bar 12, and a pair of angularly disposed socket portions 15 which have round openings. For strength, the portion 14 and the angular portions 15 which form the V-shape may be connected by strengthening webs as illustrated in FIG. 4. The holders 13 may be molded of high impact plastic material.

I now provide a flat rectangular plate 16 of any suitable material such as metal or plastic. Each plate 16 is provided with an angularly disposed rod 17 extending from one side edge in the plane of the plate, see FIG. 4. The rod 17 is of a round metal construction and is designed to frictionally fit into the sockets 15 on the holders 13. As can be seen in FIG. 1, with the parts assembled as described, there is a plate 16 positioned approximately under each leg 11 of the crib 10.

It is contemplated that the fit between the base bar 12 and the V-shaped holders 13 be frictionally tight, and that the fit between the rods 17 and the sockets 15 also be frictionally tight. This permits ready sliding adjustment to position each plate 16 under a leg 11 and permits assembly without clamps or tools. This is possible because there is no lateral pressure to pull the parts away from each other, only the downward pressure of the crib. I now provide a carriage member 18 in the form of a rectangular housing open at the bottom and having a recessed top 19. The member 18 has a plurality of caster wheels 20 housed within the carriage member 18 and extending below it. There is a carriage member 18 positioned on each plate 16. The crib 10 is mounted on the carriage members 18 with each leg 11 resting on a recessed top 19, as shown in FIG. 1.

With the above arrangement, it is obvious that if one end of the crib 10 is pushed, it will be caused to roll on the caster wheels 20 on the plates 16. The plates 16 are tion of the crib. The desired motion is applied by the construction shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. A rectangular base member 21 is positioned adjacent one of the V- shaped holders. The member 21 is provided with angularly disposed grooves 22 through which the rods 17 at that end extend. This serves to position the members 21 and to hold it in place.

A small gear motor 23 is mounted on the member 21. The motor 23 drives a disc 24 which acts as a cam element. A lever arm 25 is pivotally mounted at one end 26 to a point adjacent the perimeter of the disc 24. The other end of the lever arm 25 is pivotally mounted to a suitable clamp 27 having a thumb screw 28 for clamping to the bottom edge of one of the end walls of the crib 10, see FIG. 1. If the crib is constructed with a separate bottom bar, it can be clamped to that too.

The gear motor 23 provides a slow motion to the disc 24. It is obvious, viewing FIG. 2, that as the disc 24 rotates it imparts a reciprocating motion to the lever arm 25, which in turn reciprocates the crib a distance corresponding to the diameter of the disc 24. Suitable electrical switching arrangements can be installed so that the device can be turned on from a remote point, if desired.

The carriage members 18 should be positioned on the plates 16 so that they will reciprocate without rolling off the plates. However, if a more positive control sufficiently long to permit a suitable reciprocating mo- I is desired, the carriage construction shown in FIG. 6 may be used. In this form I use a rectangular plate 29 having a rod connection 30 corresponding to the rod 17. The top of the plate 29 is provided with a raised central portion 31 which forms a pair of spaced parallel grooves 32, one on each side. The bottom of each groove 32 may be covered with a felt or other cushioning material to reduce noise.

1 now provide a small rectangular carriage 33 having casters 34. The top of each carriage 33 is provided with a small recess 35 for receiving the bottom end of a crib leg 11. The carriage 33 is positioned on the plate 29 so that its casters 34 enter the grooves 32. The grooving keeps the carriage in a straight line and limits its movement so that it cannot roll off the plate 29. The felt bottom in each groove virtually eliminates any noise of the reciprocation.

The above construction therefore has a minimum number of readily fashioned parts. It can easily be disassembled and assembled, the parts fitting frictionally into each other. It can be packaged knocked down in a compact unit and sold separately from the crib, it making no difference what type of crib the person has. If the crib is equipped with its own casters, it is preferable that they be removed to ensure the confinement of the legs 1 l to the carriages 18 or 29. It should be noted that all the operating portions of the device extend toward the center, under the crib and away from the edges of the crib. This allows the mother to approach the crib from any side and as close as possible without stubbing her toes against the device, the floor around the crib remaining clear.

Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. A crib reciprocating device comprising a central base member, an arm extending from said central member horizontally toward the bottom end of each leg of a crib, a rectangular plate at the end of each arm positioned under each leg of a crib, means supporting each crib leg on said plates, a rectangular plate mounted adjacent one end of said central base member, a gear motor mounted on said rectangular plate, a rotatable carn disc driven by said motor, and a lever arm having one end pivotally attached to the perimeter of said disc and the other end pivotally mounted on the crib, whereby rotation of said disc will cause reciprocation of the crib on said support means and said plates, said central base member and said arms being adjustable, said central base member comprising a rectangular tubular member, a V-shaped support mounted on each end of said tubular member, each support. comprising a central rectangular socket opening adapted to receive said tubular member in sliding frictional engagement and a pair of socket portions extending angularly from the central socket portion, said angular socket portions each receiving one of said plate arms in frictional sliding engagement.

2. A device as in claim 1, wherein said support means comprises a carriage member having a plurality of casters riding on said plates, said carriage members each carrying one of the crib legs thereon.

3. A device as in claim 2, wherein each of said carriage members comprises a rectangular housing having an open bottom, a plurality of casters mounted in said housing and extending below the bottom thereof, said housing having a recessed top, the bottom end of the crib leg resting on said recessed top.

4. A device as in claim 2, wherein each of said plates is provided with spaced parallel grooves, a rectangular carriage is provided with spaced casters riding in said grooves, and a recess on the top of said carriage for receiving the bottom end of a crib leg.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE "CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Pa'tent No. 3 3 Dated p l 9, 97

Invemfl's) REMO J. LAURETI' It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

The inventor's address is:

10 Fenwood Place 4 7 Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475 Signed and sealed this 13th day of August 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY M. GIBSON, JR.

C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents FORM PO-105O (10-69) UScOMM-DC 6O376-P69 u.s. eovznnusm PRINTING OFFICE an o-ass-au. 

1. A crib reciprocating device comprising a central base member, an arm extending from said central member horizontally toward the bottom end of each leg of a crib, a rectangular plate at the end of each arm positioned under each leg of a crib, means supporting each crib leg on said plates, a rectangular plate mounted adjacent one end of said central base member, a gear motor mounted on said rectangular plate, a rotatable cam disc driven by said motor, and a lever arm having one end pivotally attached to the perimeter of said disc and the other end pivotally mounted on the crib, whereby rotation of said disc will cause reciprocation of the crib on said support means and said plates, said central base member and said arms being adjustable, said central base member comprising a rectangular tubular member, a V-shaped support mounted on each end of said tubular member, each support comprising a central rectangular socket opening adapted to receive said tubular member in sliding frictional engagement and a pair of socket portions extending angularly from the central socket portion, said angular socket portions each receiving one of said plate arms in frictional sliding engagement.
 2. A device as in claim 1, wherein said support means comprises a carriage member having a plurality of casters riding on said plates, said carriage members each carrying one of the crib legs thereon.
 3. A device as iN claim 2, wherein each of said carriage members comprises a rectangular housing having an open bottom, a plurality of casters mounted in said housing and extending below the bottom thereof, said housing having a recessed top, the bottom end of the crib leg resting on said recessed top.
 4. A device as in claim 2, wherein each of said plates is provided with spaced parallel grooves, a rectangular carriage is provided with spaced casters riding in said grooves, and a recess on the top of said carriage for receiving the bottom end of a crib leg. 